Actionable Marketing Education:For SEOs, By SEOs

Search Engine Journal, a leading search marketing publication for 14+ years, is proud to present a flagship conference that is dedicated to giving SEOs what they need: Original, first-run presentations from SEO rockstars on hot topics like link building, on-page SEO, and content strategy.

About SEJ Summit

We’re not just an SEO conference, we’re an SEO experience. Brought to you by the folks behind Search Engine Journal, SEJ Summit is a single-day, multi-track intensive “For SEOs by SEOs”.

We’re thrilled to bring to you speakers like content master strategist Ann Handley, Eric Kuan from Google, Purna Virji of Bing and industry veteran Duane Forrester. Get ready to learn with the stars of search.

Why Attend?

QUALITY

Both presenters and presentations have been heavily vetted. Not allowed: sales pitches, content-free content, presentations that everyone’s seen before. SEJ Summit must-haves? New insights from industry experts on link building, on-page SEO, and content strategy. Get ready to take lots of notes.

MINIMUM TIME FOR MAXIMIZED SESSIONS

PSST: If you’re local to the Chicago area, we’ve optimized our format to take up a single day of your time. No need to book travel, get approval for hotel accommodations. You just show up and you (could be) back at work the next day. (But we won’t tell your boss.)

YOU JUST SHOW UP

In addition to the high-quality content and first-rate speakers, we’ve got all your other needs covered all day long. Included in the price of your ticket is:

Sit-down lunch with speakers and fellow SEMs

Hosted networking reception

Continental breakfast

Refreshment breaks

Downloadable presentations

High-speed internet

Goodies from participating sponsors

BIG BRANDS, INDUSTRY EXPERTS

Some of the most recognizable faces and brands are represented at SEJ Summit. ESPN, Hootsuite, Google, Duane Forrester, Microsoft, Jenny Halasz, to drop a few names. These are the go-to folks for what’s happening in SEO.

Need Your Boss's Approval?

Do you need help convincing your boss that attending SEJ Summit is time well spent? No problem! Click one of the options below for a pre-written letter that you can easily copy/paste into an email for your boss.

Copy and paste into an email, personalize a bit, and we're off to the races!

Hi Boss,

I would like to request your approval to attend the SEJ Summit conference on May 11th at Navy Pier in Chicago.

SEJ Summit is an in-depth digital marketing event tailored for search professionals, like me. I’ll learn topical, actionable strategies we can implement on current projects, gain first-hand insights from some of the best names in our field, and get the chance to network with industry peers and speakers.

Since the event is limited to 300 attendees, the networking opportunities are going to be great. There’s a good chance I could get some 1-on-1 time with one of the keynotes [or insert other speaker you’re dying to meet] at the sit-down speaker lunch. I can ask [insert speaker name] directly about [insert a problem you are having with a work project]!

Plus, SEJ Summit is a one-day event so I wouldn’t be spending too much time out of the office, and there’s free wifi and ample breaks to keep me from falling behind on work.

Following the conference, I can submit a post-event report including my takeaways, recommendations, and new networking connections.

Here’s an approximate breakdown of costs. As for the ticket fee, the earlier I can register, the more money we will save.

Copy and paste into an email, personalize a bit, and we're off to the races!

Hi Boss,

I would like to request your approval to attend the SEJ Summit conference on May 11th at Navy Pier in Chicago.

SEJ Summit is an in-depth digital marketing event tailored for search professionals, like me. I’ll learn topical, actionable strategies we can implement on current projects, gain first-hand insights from some of the best names in our field, and get the chance to network with industry peers and speakers.

Since the event is limited to 300 attendees, the networking opportunities are going to be great. There’s a good chance I could get some 1-on-1 time with one of the keynotes [or insert other speaker you’re dying to meet] at the sit-down speaker lunch. I can ask [insert speaker name] directly about [insert a problem you are having with a work project]!

Plus, SEJ Summit is a one-day event so I wouldn’t be spending too much time out of the office, and there’s free wifi and ample breaks to keep me from falling behind on work.

Following the conference, I can submit a post-event report including my takeaways, recommendations, and new networking connections.

Here’s an approximate breakdown of costs. As for the ticket fee, the earlier I can register, the more money we will save. Also, we’re already saving loads of money since it’s a local event!

Ann Handley

Ann speaks and writes about how you can rethink the way your business markets. Cited in Forbes as the most influential woman in Social Media and recognized by ForbesWoman as one of the top 20 women bloggers, Ann Handley is the Chief Content Officer of MarketingProfs, a training and education company with the largest community of marketers in its category.

A pioneer in digital marketing, Ann is the co-founder of ClickZ.com, which was one of the first sources of interactive marketing news and commentary. She started her career as a business journalist and editor.

Purna Virji

Purna Virji is the Senior Bing Ads PPC Training Manager at Microsoft. Over a decade ago, Purna fell in love with all things digital marketing. She specializes in PPC, SEO, and Voice Search, regularly speaking at conferences across the globe such as MozCon and SMX Advanced. Purna is also a columnist for Search Engine Land and Search Engine Watch.

An award-winning former journalist, Purna was the CEO of Purview Marketing prior to joining the Bing Ads team. In her spare time, she’s an avid traveler, aspiring top chef, and amateur knitter.

Eric Kuan

Eric is 5+ year Googler who has worked in a variety of roles including search quality evaluation, webmaster relations, and security program management. He's a Texan at heart but loves living in California.

Bill Hunt

Bill is the President of Back Azimuth Consulting, which focuses on helping companies implement Global Digital Marketing Strategies and “Customer Journey Models” using keyword data to understand what consumers are looking for to better drive content.

Bill is considered one of the top thought leaders on Global Search Engine Marketing and is an internationally recognized Search Marketing speaker having spoken at conferences in over 30 countries. Press, industry analysts and corporate leaders frequently seek Bill’s advice to effectively leverage Enterprise and Global Search Marketing and Social Media strategy.

He is experienced with many global companies developing Global Search programs for IBM, P&G, Nestle, Dell, HP, Cisco, Tata Consulting and many other global brands.

Bill has previously been the CEO of two large Global Search marketing firms, Global Strategies and Outrider both of which were acquired by WPP.

In 2015 Bill was presented with both a Lifetime Achievement Award and Best Search Consultant at the US Search Awards.

Bill is the co-author of the best selling book "Search Engine Marketing, Inc." Driving Traffic to Your Companies Web Site from IBM Pres. This book has been adapted to training programs for many global companies.

Bill earned a B.A. in Asian Studies/Japanese, from the University of Maryland, Tokyo Campus, and a B.S. in International Business, from California State University, Los Angeles. Bill is also a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps.

Larry Kim

Larry Kim is the founder of WordStream , a leading search marketing software and services provider based in Boston, managing approximately over a half-Billion in annual ad spend across over thousands of customers. He regularly shares his advice and insight with over a million visitors a month at his WordStream Blog and is a columnist and top contributor for leading industry publications including Inc. Magazine, Search Engine Journal and Social Media Today.Larry has spoken at numerous industry events including INBOUND, SMX, Pubcon, ClickZ/SES, SearchLove, PPC Hero Conference, SEMPDX, MNSearch, SAScon, Marketing Festival etc.. He was recently named "Most Influential PPC Expert" for 2013 and 2014 by PPC Hero Blog and marketing agency 3Q Digital and won ClickZ's Digital Marketing Hall of Fame and Small Business Influencer awards in 2013.

Duane Forrester

18+ years of direct search and digital marketing experience, including content development, planning ad campaigns, managing ad buys, running e-mail and social media programs, and more. Extensive content planning and creation experience. Author of two business books about digital marketing and conversion optimization, published by McGraw-Hill.

Patrick Kajirian

Patrick Kajirian honed his career in technology on a broad range of roles from managing a full-service web design agency to driving user acquisition initiatives for global brands and enterprise companies in-house. He is currently a Search Engine Optimization Manager for the Walt Disney Company in the Greater New York City area.

Carolyn Shelby

Carolyn has been professionally designing/building websites and helping businesses of all sizes integrate their offline and online marketing efforts since 1994. She specializes in organic and technical SEO, content marketing, and helping businesses rebuild under-performing websites while preserving existing inbound links and search engine rankings. She is the Director of SEO for Tribune Publishing, and her team works on the Chicago Tribune, the LA Times, and Tribune newspapers and digital properties around the US.

Mindy Weinstein

Mindy is the founder and president of Market MindShift, as well as a digital marketing strategist, national speaker, trainer, and published author. Mindy has taught search engine optimization courses to companies of all sizes. Mindy co-authored The Marketing Avengers and Rich and Thin: Slim Down, Shrink Debt, Turn Calories Into Cash (McGraw Hill). She is a contributor to SearchEngineJournal.com and has been interviewed on Fox, NBC, and ABC. She has also been quoted as an expert in The Huffington Post and The Washington Post. She is an adjunct marketing professor at Grand Canyon University.

Dan Morrison

Dan Morrison is Director of Client Services at aimClear, a future-forward digital marketing agency dominant in B2C & B2B search, social-psychographic display targeting, organic social media, customer acquisition, & classic creative values. He has 10 years of experience ranging from eCommerce, Retail, Consumer Market, Financial Services, Agency Services & SaaS Applications. Client credits include Macys.com, Walmart.com, Uber, Crate & Barrel, Bloomingdales.com among others. He is an accomplished & respected thought leader with publications on Search Engine Land as well as various speaking engagements across SMX and SES. He’s effective at working with big and small brands alike and is driven by delighting customers through performance and relationship results no matter the cost.

Erin Robbins

Manage SaaS SEO and content marketing platform company.Develop product strategy and roadmap.Communicate with customers to determine needs, feature requests, and future roadmap items.Manage sales and marketing process including product demos and business development.Manage operations and finance needs of global business.Work with development and engineering team to ensure feature development, support and issue management, and product stability.

Jenny Halasz

Jenny Halasz is the founder of JLH Marketing, Inc., a consultancy that specializes in search strategy, with an emphasis on intuitive user experience and successful customer acquisition. With over a decade of experience in search, Jenny is knowledgeable in all areas of online marketing. She's worked with dozens of blue chip clients as well as plenty of small enterprises and startups.

Prior to starting her company, Jenny was an SEO consultant, a Vice President of Search, and an Account Manager at well-known agencies. Before her agency life, she was in-house marketing and Affiliate Manager for Art.com.

With experience in SEO and PPC, social marketing, copywriting, conversion optimization, affiliate marketing, and analytics, Jenny's time in both in an agency environment and as an in-house marketer ensure that she understands the big picture of any client's marketing needs. She develops cohesive strategies based on data points and client priorities across all aspects of a client’s business.

Some of the clients Jenny has worked with include: SAP, NVIDIA, Four Seasons Resorts, Humana, Priceline, Motorola, Saint Laurent Paris (YSL), Wharton School of Business, CitiFinancial, HP, NBC Stores, and Lions Gate Films.

Jenny writes a column (All Things SEO) for Search Engine Land, is the SEO for Ask an SEO at Search Engine Journal, and is a contributing author for "SEO Like I'm 5: The Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Search Engine Optimization". She is a search marketing instructor for ASPE, and has spoken at SMX, State of Search, Pubcon, Conversion Conference, Digital Summit, Digital Dealer and other conferences. Jenny graduated cum laude with a degree of her own design (Marketing and Mass Communication) from NC State University. She still lives in Raleigh, NC, but likes to travel whenever possible. Read more at http://www.linkedin.com/in/jennyhalasz or follow Jenny on Twitter @jennyhalasz.

Rhea Drysdale

Rhea Drysdale is Chief Executive Officer of Outspoken Media where she oversees the strategic vision and growth of the company, its clients, and team. As a small digital marketing agency, Outspoken Media services small, medium and Fortune 100 clients providing SEO consulting, reputation marketing, outreach, content strategy, and full content, creative, and social implementation services.

Since 2004 Rhea has grown her understanding of SEO, digital marketing, reputation, and brand development with both in-house and agency positions. In 2013, Rhea was recognized by the Albany Business Review‘s 40 Under 40 as a young business leader.

Rhea speaks at national conferences as a keynote and industry expert and is often cited in media outlets covering search engine optimization and reputation marketing topics. Rhea resides in Troy, NY, with her husband and their two children.

Jeanette Pesnikov

As Content Manager, Jeanette is responsible for developing and executing the primary SEO content strategy for Grainger.com. Jeanette brings years of experience from both in-house and agency-side, where she worked with mid-sized business and Fortune 500 companies.

Zak Ramdani

With over 10 years of SEO experience, Zak has consistently delivered impactful results to clients. Specializing in enterprise SEO, Zak has led organic search programs for big brands like Avis and Budget, and has supported search strategies for Cigna, ToysRus, and many more. Currently Zak leads the SEO strategy at Hootsuite, the world's largest social media management platform, as their Great SEO Owl.

Brent Csutoras

Brent Csutoras is a social media marketing strategist and entrepreneur, who specializes in social media marketing, content marketing, and viral content creation.He has also been mentioned in Forbes.com, Wired, Health, and interviewed for Entrepreneur.com.Brent speaks regularly at some of the largest and well known conferences, such as SMX, Pubcon, SES, and Affiliate Summit.

Loren Baker

Loren Baker is the creator of Search Engine Journal, and co-founder of consultancy firm, Foundation Digital. Loren has been involved in the internet marketing field since 1998 with a background in paid search and search engine optimization. In 2003, he began blogging his research and thoughts on the industry, which blossomed into the current Search Engine Journal. He currently resides in the Los Angeles area.

SPONSORS, WE ❤ YOU

Sponsors keep ticket prices down so more attendees can participate! Showcase your brand as an industry thought leader and get in front of ALL the search marketing pros– including our 850K+ website visitors and 320K social fans. Hit up jessica@searchenginejournal.com to learn more about our sponsorship opportunities.

Don't let any SEO tool tell you what to do!A Sponsored Workshop by Linkdex

Whether you’re in-house or at an agency, you need to power your data-driven digital marketing, SEO, content and outreach strategies with Linkdex. This workshop is for those who are serious about using data and insights to power market-winning strategies.

Triangulate opportunities and gaps with Research Data, Ranking Data and up to 12 months of Search Console Data

Compare domains and apply complex keyword filters based on categories, channels, and products

Manage ranking flux and keyword cannibalization

Understand the difference between desktop and mobile rankings down to a zip code level

Eric Kuan

Eric Kuan, Webmaster Relations Specialist for Google, will cover two hot topics for SEOs: website security and manual actions. Find out what Google is seeing in hacking trends, what HTTPS does (and doesn't do), and how to best address a hacked site. Then, he'll discuss manual actions: how they work, how to avoid them, and what to do when you've had one applied to your site.

Mindy Weinstein

When your product or service is yawn-inducing, or is not generally a topic of polite company, what's a marketer to do? Mindy will take us through case studies of creating compelling content for challenging verticals.

Don't let any SEO tool tell you what to do!A Sponsored Workshop by Linkdex

Whether you’re in-house or at an agency, you need to power your data-driven digital marketing, SEO, content and outreach strategies with Linkdex. This workshop is for those who are serious about using data and insights to power market-winning strategies.

Triangulate opportunities and gaps with Research Data, Ranking Data and up to 12 months of Search Console Data

Compare domains and apply complex keyword filters based on categories, channels, and products

Manage ranking flux and keyword cannibalization

Understand the difference between desktop and mobile rankings down to a zip code level

Patrick Kajirian

Dwelling on his experience, Patrick will walk us through how ESPN planned and executed the domain migration from an SEO perspective, sharing key lessons and fundamentals that SEOs need to avoid common pitfalls and ensure minimum traffic loss.

Jeanette Pesnikov

Studies have shown over and over that website content is the most impactful element of ecommerce conversions. It has a direct influence on everything from SEO to linkbuilding to every stage of the funnel. Jeanette Pesnikov of Grainger will step through the key content types, what you should be using to attract customers, and how to apply content to ecommerce success.

Don't let any SEO tool tell you what to do!A Sponsored Workshop by Linkdex

Whether you’re in-house or at an agency, you need to power your data-driven digital marketing, SEO, content and outreach strategies with Linkdex. This workshop is for those who are serious about using data and insights to power market-winning strategies.

Triangulate opportunities and gaps with Research Data, Ranking Data and up to 12 months of Search Console Data

Compare domains and apply complex keyword filters based on categories, channels, and products

Manage ranking flux and keyword cannibalization

Understand the difference between desktop and mobile rankings down to a zip code level

Larry Kim

There's over 1000 new features in PPC marketing across Facebook and Google AdWords in the last year. Which ones should you focus on? Join Larry Kim for a tour of his top 7 most highly leveraged new PPC advertising hacks to get the most returns for least amount spent.

Zak Ramdani

How Hootsuite broke their organic traffic metrics for 7 consecutive months, and doubled their blog traffic using on-page techniques to cater to Google's answer box, as well as deploying an SEO mindset throughout all communication channels within Hootsuite.

Erin Robbins

Most of the key metrics we obsess over are the same ones your competitive counterpart is poring over. Erin examines data you're probably not leveraging (but should!) and how to apply that to marketing objectives beyond of traditional search, ie. content strategy, to get an edge over your industry rivals.

Jenny Halasz

Mobile now represents 65% of digital media time. How do you know if your site is successfully converting and serving your mobile customers? Jenny will walk through the reports that will tell you if your mobile game is measuring up.

Rhea Drysdale

Brands know that the conversation with active and potential consumers starts and potentially ends with reputation. Welcome to "Reputation Marketing": Rhea will provide actionable steps and real life examples of how to apply reputation marketing to accelerate digital growth, especially in the areas of outreach, content strategy, social marketing, and organic performance.

Dan Morrison

"Influencer Marketing" is one of the most misunderstood terms in our industry. It is the fine art of systematically reaching out to players who hold powerful sway over key audiences, from customers to media a crucial marketing skill.

Evolutions in social psychographic targeting, now easily available, have quietly revolutionized how marketers ping the persuasive. Join Dan Morrison for a no holds barred session:

Duane Forrester

There is a change happening right now, and it's affecting you. Whether you are winning or losing comes down to how you relate to the next two generations of consumers. We'll look at the search engine changes being driven by consumers, the growth of mobile and voice search, and how your strategy needs to change in order to successfully adapt and win.

Purna Virji Sr.

How do we convert visitors with no landing pages? Consumers' digital purchase behaviors have been changing rapidly. We're reaching a point where the landing page is becoming irrelevant as new technology changes the way we buy. In this session based on in-depth research, Purna will explore messaging commerce, artificial intelligence and conversation as a platform. Come to this session to learn exactly what you need to do to get prepared.

Networking

Breakfast of Champs

Start your day early with us. Get to know speakers and fellow attendees over a hearty breakfast, or get some work done with the complimentary WiFi.

Sit-Down Lunch with Speakers

Claim your chance for 1-on-1 time with a speaker of your choice during our intimate, catered sit-down lunch. SEJ Summit speakers and panelists will each host a table for up to 10 attendees.

Happy Hour Reception

Make more friends after the conference, or get to know new ones better. We’ll top the day off with a hosted happy hour reception equipped with a limitless bar and tray passed hors d’oeuvres.

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Testimonials

SEJ Summit, which is hosted by the Search Engine Journal editorial team, will return in 2017. This "no fluff" event promises to cover all things SEO, all the time, when it takes place May 11 in Chicago. Last year's show in New York was excellent, and I'm sure this will be another great investment for search marketers who want to learn and network.

What will the day be like?

Every detail of your day has been field tested at previous conferences. Through trial and error, we’ve discovered big and small things like: attendees love a mix of candy and fruit for the breaks. Having speaker lunch tables results in the best networking. Attendees will optimally absorb content in 20 minute sprints. The end result? By providing the best environment possible free of distractions, you’ll learn more and meet more folks.

What is the refund policy?

You may cancel your registration anytime before April 1, 2017. Simply send us an email at sejsummit@searchenginejournal.com. Your registration will be refunded less a $75 processing fee. Cancellations after April 1, 2017 are non-refundable.

You may transfer your registration to another person at your organization by notifying us at sejsummit@searchenginejournal.com, however, you may not transfer your registration on the day of the event.

In the spirit of providing a safe learning environment for all attendees, we will not tolerate harassment, hateful speech, or behavior in any form from any person at any time before, during, or after the conference, including at any networking events hosted by SEJ.

Conference participants who violate this code of conduct will be removed from the premises and may not be refunded their ticket cost.

Any participant who is asked to cease any of the above behaviours are expected to comply immediately, or risk being ejected from the premises.

This policy applies to ALL attendees, including SEJ Team Members, sponsors, presenters, and staff of the venue. How to Report Harassment at SEJ Summit

To report any issue, please speak with Jessica Cromwell, our Director of Sales and Events, or any other SEJ Team Member at the event. Or, if you prefer, you can contact Jessica by email at jessica@searchenginejournal.com at a later time.

Please note that all reports will remain confidential.

Steps to Resolution After Harassment is Reported SEJ Team Members take each reported incident very seriously and will adhere to the following protocol for every reported incident.

If there is an immediate danger, authorities will be called. (If no immediate danger is present, the authorities will only be called upon request of the victim.)

SEJ Staff will document the incident and collect as many details about both the harasser and the situation as possible. These details include, but are not limited to:

Name, company, position, and contact info of the harasser

The event/behavior that was in violation of our policy

Time, date, and location of incident

Any other people involved (including their contact information, if possible)

Any other contextual information surrounding the event

Victims name and contact information (You may remain anonymous)

Please help the SEJ Team create a welcoming and respectful environment for all attendees and participants by following our anti-harassment guidelines and reporting any violations to an SEJ team member as soon as possible.